The Strategic Plan/The PhD Plan

The 2013-2018 Strategic Plan focused on
increasing the student pipeline and workforce for PhD researchers and
faculty-researchers. This Plan was developed by ASHA’s Academic Affairs Board
(AAB) in 2013. It was designed to (a) monitor trends in communication sciences
and disorders (CSD) education and support and (b) enhance capacity building for
academic-researchers in audiology, speech-language pathology and speech and
hearing science. This project was a large undertaking that involved collaborative
efforts of AAB members, ASHA staff, CAPCSD, and CSD academic programs.

The four primary objectives in the PhD
Plan included:

Enhancing
the science base of the curriculum
at the undergraduate level and sharing best practices and creative models of PhD
education with the goal of better preparing PhD faculty-researchers in CSD.

Communicating
to a wide audience,
including the general public and those in the scientific arena, about
audiology, speech-language pathology and speech and hearing sciences and the
urgent need for more CSD PhDs.

Developing
programs to increase the recruitment and retention of PhD students and faculty-researchers.

Advocating
for funding of PhD education and research in communication sciences and disorders.

Overall Progress Made in CSD Research Doctorates between 2013 and 2018

On behalf of all of those involved in
the PhD Plan, it is gratifying to report that clear and significant progress
was made on all four primary objectives. Between 2013 and 2018, ASHA and
CAPCSD implemented many initiatives and programs (e.g., state and national
presentations, public relations campaigns, award and mentoring programs, and
publications concerning CSD research) to achieve positive outcomes. Notably,
progress exceeded expectations in three areas:

The
actual number of CSD research doctorate degrees earned annually grew by 16%

The
actual percentage of doctoral recipients who went on to research and academic
positions increased by 223%

The
actual percentage of the CSD doctoral recipients who took positions as
faculty-researchers in CSD academic programs increased by 18%

Two data collection areas showed little
or no change between 2013 and 2018.

The
first concerned the ability of PhD programs to fill the seats available for new
students. A 4% increase was observed, which was lower than the targeted 10% rate.
This outcome reflected the increase in program capacity over the same time
period, resulting in a greater total number of seats available in 2018 than in
2013.

Likewise,
the percentage of PhD graduates who went on to postdoctoral positions did not
increase, despite the fact that 93% of available postdoc positions were filled
each year. This finding most likely reflects a lack of growth in the
availability of postdoctoral opportunities in CSD in 2012 to 2018.

Progress Made in Audiology/Hearing Science Research Doctorates between 2013 and 2018

Encouraging results specific to
audiology/hearing science include the following highlights:

From
2013 to 2018, the number of PhD degrees granted ranged from 25 to 67 each year,
with an average of 39 and a total of 234. These numbers demonstrate
consistent growth compared to the previous decade, during which the growth was
inconsistent.

Between 2008 and 2018, there was also an increase (from 17 to 113) in the number of individuals holding both the AuD and the PhD. Specifically, the percentage of ASHA-certified audiologists who hold the AuD and PhD increased from 0.1% (n = 17) in 2008 to 0.8% (n = 113) in 2018 but remains less than 1% of CCC-A audiologists. Perhaps most remarkable is the fact that, while the overall growth of the audiology profession remained essentially unchanged between 2008 and 2018, the number of PhDs awarded in audiology/hearing science in the same time periodincreased by 7%. These data mitigate concerns that a clinical doctorate in audiology would draw potential candidates away from pursuing a PhD. Additionally, the percentage of ASHA-affiliated PhD faculty certified in audiology who are early-career PhDs (age 40 or younger) increased 7% between 2008 and 2018 (from 20% in 2008 to 27% in 2018). In contrast, the aging of PhD faculty in audiology/hearing science has, unfortunately, continued to grow over the past 16 years. In 2018, the median age of audiology/hearing science faculty was 57 compared to 55 in 2008 and 51 in 2002.

Closing Remarks

The PhD Plan describes the ongoing need to recruit CSD PhD students into the pipeline and increase the number of PhD academic-researchers, in order to sustain the professions of audiology, speech-language pathology and speech and hearing science. Both ASHA and CAPCSD have plans to carry on with their individual and joint efforts. This article underscores the critical need of redoubling our efforts to recruit younger audiologists into academic-research careers. Work will continue to recruit, retain and support PhD students, advocate for PhD education, fund CSD research, evolve PhD curricula, and enhance outreach to the public and scientific communities. We entered a new decade with positive progress towards addressing the PhD shortage in CSD, and much more to do to maintain and extend these gains in the years to come.

Acknowledgement: I want to recognize the enormous amount of work done by members of ASHA’s Academic Affairs Board, Academic Affairs and Research Education staff, and Surveys and Analysis staff to gather the data and prepare the report described here.

About the Author

Dr. Koehnke is Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders at Montclair State University.